This invention relates generally to ozone generation and, more particularly, to improved systems and methods for generating ozone employing a corona discharge ozone generating cell.
Generation of ozone from an oxygen-containing gas is known. Ozone generation by corona discharge is affected by various factors. To maximize ozone production by a corona discharge ozone generating cell, the cell pressure and the flow of the oxygen-containing gas through the cell must be maintained within close tolerances. Typically these parameters have been controlled by adjusting valves and pressure regulators on inputs and outputs to the ozone generating cell. Once the control parameters are set and the process remains steady or constant, the ozone generating cell will operate within the prescribed parameters.
In a typical application involving ozone generation, however, the process does not remain constant. Continuous manual adjustments are often required to optimize ozone production in those situations. Examples of such dynamic processes include bubbling ozone into the bottom of a tank of water which varies in depth (back pressure variations), and moving an ozone output from a venturi with a negative pressure to an application requiring a positive pressure. These process variations will often adversely affect ozone production by the corona discharge ozone generating cell.
There is a need for minimizing the effect of process variations to ensure optimal ozone production by the corona discharge ozone generating cell in applications involving dynamic processes.
The present invention provides systems and methods for minimizing the effect of variations in processes occurring downstream of the corona discharge ozone generating cell on ozone production by the ozone generating cell. Specific embodiments of the invention minimize the effect of the downstream process variations on the corona discharge ozone generating cell pressure and flow. The invention does so by providing a relieving pressure regulator downstream of the corona discharge ozone generating cell and setting the regulator to the desired ozone generating cell pressure to eliminate or at least minimize the effect of downstream process variations. The relieving pressure regulator automatically maintains the pressure at the desired ozone generating cell pressure regardless of process variations occurring downstream of the ozone generating cell and relieving pressure regulator. A flow regulating orifice is provided upstream of the corona discharge ozone generating cell to control the flow of oxygen-containing gas into the ozone generating cell. Having set the desired ozone generating cell pressure and selecting the flow regulating orifice to control the flow of the incoming gas, the pressure of the incoming gas is adjusted upstream of the corona discharge ozone generating cell to achieve optimal ozone production by the ozone generating cell.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a system for generating ozone by corona discharge comprises a corona discharge ozone generating cell. A flow control orifice is disposed upstream of and coupled to the corona discharge ozone generating cell for controlling a flow of incoming gas to the corona discharge ozone generating cell for producing an ozone-containing gas from the incoming gas by corona discharge. An upstream pressure regulator is disposed upstream of and coupled to the corona discharge ozone generating cell for setting and automatically maintaining a desired inlet pressure of the incoming gas entering the corona discharge ozone generating cell. A downstream pressure regulator is disposed downstream of and coupled to the corona discharge ozone generating cell for setting and automatically maintaining a desired cell pressure for the corona discharge ozone generating cell so that effects of variances caused by processing of the ozone-containing gas downstream of the corona discharge ozone generating cell and the downstream pressure regulator on ozone production by the ozone generating cell are at least substantially eliminated.
In accordance with another embodiment of this invention, a system for generating ozone by corona discharge comprises a corona discharge ozone generating cell, and means for controlling a flow of oxygen-containing gas to the corona discharge ozone generating cell for generating ozone from the oxygen-containing gas by corona discharge. The system further comprises means disposed downstream of and coupled to the corona discharge ozone generating cell for automatically maintaining a desired preset cell pressure for the corona discharge ozone generating cell to minimize effects on process variations occurring downstream of the corona discharge ozone generating cell. The system also comprises means disposed upstream of and coupled to the corona discharge ozone generating cell for selecting and automatically maintaining a pressure of the oxygen-containing gas flowing into the corona discharge ozone generating cell to maximize ozone production.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a method for controlling ozone production of a corona discharge ozone generating cell comprises the step of controlling a flow of incoming gas to the corona discharge ozone generating cell for producing an ozone-containing gas by corona discharge and providing a measurement representing a flow rate of the flow of incoming gas to the corona discharge ozone generating cell. A pressure of the ozone-containing gas exiting downstream of the corona discharge ozone generating cell is set and automatically maintained to minimize effects of variances caused by processing of the ozone-containing gas downstream of the corona discharge ozone generating cell. The method further comprises the step of adjusting and automatically maintaining a pressure of the incoming gas in response to the set pressure for the ozone-containing gas exiting downstream of the corona discharge ozone generating cell and the measurement representing the flow rate of the flow of incoming gas to the corona discharge generating cell to maximize ozone production by the corona discharge ozone generating cell.